Summary

The Court in the Republic of Estonia has resulted in the appointment of many new judges of limited or no prior experience who shall now cope with the re–structured legal system as well as with the new substantive and procedure laws. These fundametal changes have made it necessary to create a Centre for continuing legal education administered by the National Court primarily for judges but also for the court personnel.

Seven seminars have already been held with the faculty drawn from the National Court, Tartu District Court and Faculty of Law of Tartu University. In the future foreign lecturers and and lecturers from other disciplines will participate. Parallel seminars for court secretaries will also begin in the autumn of 1994. A seminar–room has been established at the National Court which will be furnished with video, audio and computer equipment to facilitate teaching. The National Court law library, computer centre, and database will also support the training of judges and others in the legal profession. Financial assistance as well as the educational and technical help is expected from many foreign countries, particularly the United States of America, and is expected to continue on a long–term basis as Estonia makes the transition to a democratic society under the rule of law.